Breweries Opening/Closing in Minnesota 2018

Lake of the woods brewing Company’s brewing equipment is hoping to be delivered mid januaryish per my sources.

They debuted their online gear store yesterday


https://lake-of-the-woods-brewing-co-minnesota.myshopify.com/

 

The owners of Lakeville Brewing will be opening a second brewpub location in Inver Grove, tentatively and affectionately under the name "Inver Grove Brewing". Exciting for another brewpub concept - the beer & food combo at the current location is top notch.

 

Has Lakeville Brewing improved? We visited quite a while ago (2 years or so) & the quality of the beers was such that we've never bothered to return. Would be lovely to have a new place in Inver Grove if they've cleaned up their brews.

 

Was just there this past week and it was enjoyable. Not top tier by any means, but very drinkable with no noticeable off flavors. The killer food made it a very good visit.

 

https://www.oliphantbrewing.com/merch#!/SMUG-CLUB-ENROLLMENT/p/121788796/category=0

I see Oliphant is looking to expand

 

I checked out Stacked Deck in downtown St. Paul. I'll be very generous in writing merely that it has a long way to go to get up to par. To my amusement, a large chunk of the clientele seemed confused, attempting to order food and "domestic beers." There was also a "Do you have anything that tastes like Heineken?" In several cases, these folks, due to their obvious lack of interest in craft beer, settled for mainstream sodas (good choice, it turns out). I suspect that Stacked Deck may find the need quickly to pivot away from its stated intention to focus on big beers. The brewers need to learn to walk before they run anyway. As always, I'll give the brewery some time and a second chance down the road.

 

Woah! I'd love to see them expand. Their place is so dang small. I hope they can pull it off. If I were closer to them, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

The Growler provides a 2018 Year in Review, claiming 29 brewery openings in the state in the year.

 

Slightly updated article on Lazy Loon Brewing Co. in Glencoe, MN they close on their building this Friday so this will be a 2019 brewery .




https://www.crowrivermedia.com/hutc...cle_63b5e93c-29eb-55de-a08b-95de5efb6a91.html

 

Yoerg in St. Paul now is "hoping to... have a soft opening by the 15th of December" but admits to wishful thinking, according to its Facebook page.

 

Did this used to be a grocery store?

 

It was formerly a Coast-To-Coast hardware store: https://www.wadenapj.com/news/44534...-use-permit-approved-drastic-measures-brewing

 

Really looking forward to this Taproom. To bad city of St Paul inspections are prohibiting this. The toughest hurdle sometime upon opening.

 

Technically, it's a brewpub. On the one hand, the city of St. Paul can indeed make things very difficult on small business owners. On the other hand, Yoerg's Facebook page is so full of whining, buck-passing, blame, and excuses that it would make Aaron Rodgers blush.

In other news, according to its Facebook page, Uncommon Loon in Chisago City will not be softly open this weekend after all "as we tie up the final loose ends."

 

Those damn final "loose ends".

 

I thought they were a brewery after getting label approvals and getting pours from 12 oz bottles at various fests.

 

Yoerg technically is two different businesses with separated ownership:

1. A packaging client-brewing company that utilizes Octopi Brewing in Waunakee, Wisconsin as its contract brewer.
2. A supposedly soon-to-open brewpub in St. Paul with a full bar license (including hard liquor, guest taps, and wine) and a small, in-house brewing system.

 

The Strib has an article on Bent Brewstillery's continuing push to legalize joint taprooms / cocktail rooms. Currently, Bent Brewstillery in Roseville is the only company in the state with both a brewery and distillery license, but state law forces it to choose between a taproom with beer and a cocktail room with hard liquor (it has chosen the former).

I'll throw out there that, if such a bill were to become law, a distillery license, some small stills, and a professional distiller would be a relatively small expense to a company the size of Surly. It could then round out its bar program with hard liquor (making it even more appealing to groups of patrons with inevitably varying levels of interest in craft beer) and hedge against potential market shifts in consumer preferences. I've heard no talk that Surly would be interested; I'm just noting that it strikes me as a natural addition given Surly's unique (in this state) business model.

More likely, I think we might see several to many distilleries, most of which already make "distiller's beer" for whiskey, supplement their cocktail room offerings with beer to widen their appeal and seize some of that craft beer buzz. So I actually see a potential wide impact to the legislation that Bent Brewstillery is pushing, although it sounds from the article that Bartley Blume won't be thrilled with me making that prediction in a public forum.

 

Both need to change plus sales in all grocery stores if they so desire.